The Complete Circle
by Rena9b
Summary: Joint story between SpiritTigerRei and Rena9b. An impulsive fighter, strict mercenary, playful magic-user, and a cunning prince must join together to not only create one of the most unique parties ever but to complete their most interesting adventure yet
1. Chapter 1

**THE COMEPLETE CIRCLE**

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Here's to the _nights_ that turned into mornings  
And to the friends that turned into family

Is our circle of friends complete?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Alright before I start the story I want to make a few points perfectly clear to everyone who reads this.

This is a **JOINT** story between the author SpiritTigerRei and I. Seeing as how different font colors cannot be used each of our own sections will be separated with a dash.

All the characters are original and this story is based on what I suppose you could call the generic fantasy setting. Neither of us minds constructive criticism, but please no flaming. I know I personally am interested in improving my writing and this is why I am posting this.

This is my first time posting a whole story on and I'm still trying to figure out if character profiles or picture links are allowed. Since I'm not sure I'll just leave them out for now, if anyone wants to see them or can clarify the rules for me I'd be very thankful.

Please enjoy.

~Rena

A joint story between SpiritTigerRei and Rena9b. An impulsive fighter, strict mercenary, playful magic-user, and a cunning prince must join together to not only create one of the most unique parties ever but to complete their most interesting adventure yet

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

**CHAPTER 1**

The streets of the small town were silent in the morning light. The buildings stood crowded against one another watching over the main street. The pale blue skies were growing brighter as the sun clawed its way to overcome the horizon and shine upon the cold valley.

A young woman was the only sign of life on the main road, despite the fact that merchants should have already started to come out and set up their stalls for market. She walked through the desolate streets silently, her black boots sending up small puffs of dust as she walked. Her eyes flicked from building to building warily her hand lowering itself onto the polished hilt of her sword.

Risa walked up the set of neat wooden steps to the door of the town's tavern and inn. She reached for the door handle expecting it to be locked because of the building's dark windows. To her slight surprise Risa found that the door to the building swung open rather easily and without even a creak. As she stepped into the room she took note of how tidy everything seemed to be and how empty it all was. The only person who Risa could see was the woman who was working the bar. A look of suspicion flickered across Risa's face. It was early in the morning, but not that early.

The woman wiping down the bar heard the floor squeak as Risa moved across it towards a table. Risa watched as the look of shock and fear registered in the woman's eyes when she saw the sight of Risa's sword on her hip. Risa nodded to the woman, the amount of her suspicion increasing. It wasn't uncommon to have a sword nowadays, especially for someone who was traveling alone.

Risa pulled on a chair at her table listening to the scraping sound of wood on wood as it dragged across the floor. Risa lowered herself into the chair with a silent sigh of gratitude. It had been a long night of non-stop travel and this was the first town she had come to. Risa's fingers brushed against the hilt of her sword again, she could defend herself if there was some sort of trap being laid here. Risa leaned again the table and drummed her fingers against the thick wood. She had gotten a message a week ago stating that there was work to be found over in this valley so she had come. There was obviously something going on in this town and Risa wanted to know what, and if possible she would help. For a price of course.

--------

Rikku slowly walks down the streets of a small town. It was too early. The sun was just appearing over the horizon. Rikku yawned loudly not caring who heard her. There weren't many people out anyway. Just farmers heading to nearby fields and street vendors getting ready for the day. All Rikku wanted to do was sleep, for she hasn't gotten any in two days. Why? Well one she didn't have enough money for an inn and two, whenever she tried to hunt for food the prey wood get upset and chase after her all night. She really didn't have any luck with hunting...or finding a job. Every time she entered a village there problems were already taken care of. Her poor savings. She innerly cried as she thought about it. That reminded her of something. She hasn't had anything to eat in three days. She quickly looked around trying to find something to eat. Anything would do. Her eyes lit up when she saw a man selling apples. She ran over to the man asking how much it was to buy an apple.

"5 copper pieces," said the man with a smile. Rikku squealed in delight.

"I actually have that much!" she yelled. She reached to her side and opened the pouch of money she had...or thought she had. Rikku began to cry. Turns out there was a hole in the bottom of it and there was no money to be found. The smiling man began to twitch in anger. Even though he was still smiling you could see the vein pulsing on his forehead. She gasped and dramatically pointed behind the man.

"*Gasp* is that a black dragon?!" The man's eyes widened as he quickly turned around. Rikku quickly grabbed an apple and ran for it. The vendor turned back around when he saw no black dragon. He blinked when he saw no girl. His eyes narrowed as he ran after the girl. Rikku looked behind her to see the big muscular man running after her. She quickly turned a corner and went into a nearby tavern. She quietly watched though a window as the man ran by. She smirked and took a bite of her apple. Rikku looked around the tidy tavern only to see two people. A woman behind the bar and a blacked hair girl at a table near by. Rikku stared at the girl a little longer then shrugged. The red head walked over to the bar and ordered some apple juice. The women looked at her with a strange face. Really, who ordered apple juice at a bar?

--------

Risa didn't move when she felt the gust of wind from the open door. The door closed quickly after it had opened and she heard the person's quick breathing. They must have been running from something, or someone. The person let out a small sigh then the sound of an apple being crunched was heard. The floor let out a squeak as she, Risa judged by the sounds that the person was too light to be a male, moved across the room. Risa heard as the young girl ordered and apple juice and she looked over her shoulder slightly to see who it was.

An average sized girl with shaggy reddish hair was leaning against the bar eating an apple with a pleased smile on her face. Risa blinked her dark eyes as she took note of the sword and bow strapped across the girl's back.

"_Hmmmm...._" A small smile grew on Risa's lips as she watched the terrified look of the barmaid as she scrambled to get the girl's apple juice. It was odd how high strung the people here were... Or was it just the barmaid? In any case there **was** someone else in this town that was capable of wielding a weapon. Risa looked away from the girl and continued to drum her fingers lightly against the table. "_I wonder what they have to eat here...._"

--------

Rikku said her thanks when the bar lady gave her the apple juice. As she took a sip of the liquid her face scrunched up at the displeasing taste. This was some of the worst tasting apple juice that she ever had! She was not going to pay for this...not that she could.

"I'm not paying for this," Rikku said to the lady.

"W-what? Why?" stuttered the lady.

"It's horrible. It's not worth the money."

"Then I'll take it back."

Rikku held the mug close to her body in a protective way. "No." she said.

"Wha?"

"I still want it. I'm just not paying for it."

"You can't do that!"

"It's not like I have money for it anyway" Rikku clapped her hand over her mouth. "Oops..." A little bulb went off in her head. A man in one of the other villages said a black almost blue haired girl helped them. Rikku quickly turned around, causing apple juice to go everywhere, and jabbed a finger in the other girl's direction. "YOU!"

--------

Risa twitched slightly when the girl's loud voice yelled for her and her fingers stopped moving. She turned her head slowly to see the red haired girl's blue/green gaze fixed directly on her and a finger pointing her way. The barmaid was huddled behind the counter, her lip trembling and a nervous look in her eyes. The apple juice had been spilled and it trickled down over the edge of the bar and stains were visible on the girl's shirt.

Risa ran her thumb along her lower lip and look at the girl evenly. Her cat-like eyes looked at her, analyzed her for a moment more, then she finally tossed her head to the side uninterested. "What?"

"YOU! YOU! YOU! YOUYOUYOUYOU!" Rikku gasped for breath. "You're the one that took all the jobs in other villages. You're the reason I have no money!!!" Rikku started taking short rapid breaths. Rikku calmed down after a few minutes of glaring at the girl in front of her. Suddenly a smirk appeared on her face as she glided over to the table. The red head pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. "It's okay you can make it up to me by buying me that apple juice and a whole bag of apples," she said evilly.

--------

Risa placed her elbow on the table and leaned her chin on top of her open palm, her fingers curling around her jaw bone. "Hnn...." the corner of her mouth twisted up in a small peculiar small and her eyes scanned the girl sitting in front of her once again. "I think not... You see I'm not in the habit of paying money to strangers."

--------

Rikku's eyes narrowed but she still kept the smile on her face. "Name's Rikku. I'm 17 1/2. Nice to meet you. See now I'm not a stranger. I suggest you pay," she said holding out a hand.

--------

Risa stayed silent for another moment then slowly lifted her head off of its resting place. "I remember now. You must be **that** Rikku." Risa's eyes flicked up off the table to meet Rikku's again. "The half-elf who was _trying_ to get work back in that last town."

With a scraping sound Risa rose out of her seat, her right hand fingering the hilt of her sword. She drew her hand away from the sword quickly and Rikku could see the almost amused look on her face. "Sorry, but getting something from me, no matter how small, comes with a price."

--------

Rikku smirk and had an evil glint in her eyes. She put a hand on her sword. She was in a bad mood and this girl wasn't making it better. "And what kind of price are you asking for? A fight? I wouldn't suggest that. I'm stronger than I look."

--------

Risa brushed her hair over the shoulder and looked over to find that the barmaid had disappeared. A quick glance around the room showed that she was nowhere to be seen. Risa rolled her shoulders around and looked back to Rikku's face; the hot-headed girl had probably not even noticed the barmaid's absence. Risa sighed and crossed her arms over her chest and frowned slightly, she had wanted to get a room for the night, but the only person who would know how to get her a room was gone.

--------

Rikku blinked, waiting for a response from the girl. Nope, nothing...She was completely ignoring the half-elf. Rikku was about to say something when her stomach started growling, very loudly I might add. Rikku started to laugh nervously while rubbing the back of her head. "I guess I'm still hungry. Hey bar lady, get me some food and put it on my new friends tab here!" Rikku looked around to see the bar lady gone. "Well, that's weird..."

--------

Risa glared at Rikku from the corner of her eye and walked over to the bar. There was nobody around so she went behind it and tried the door, however it was locked tight. Somehow being around Rikku had caused her to lose her appetite and all she wanted to do was get a room and sleep. Risa moved towards the staircase leading up to the second floor, maybe there was someone upstairs who could tell her where to get a room.

When Risa reached the foot of the steps she looked over her shoulder at Rikku who was still looking about for the barmaid. Risa rolled her eyes and started up the steps, but suddenly there was a sound of running feet above her. Risa tensed as the sound came closer and closer; a figure stopped at the top of the dark steps for a moment then kept running down the hallway.

--------

Rikku cautiously watched as Risa went up the steps and sighed. There was something weird about this town. Rikku put her hands in her pocket and followed Risa up the stairs. She stopped at the first step when she saw a figure at the top of the steps. "So is it just me or is something not right about this town?" Rikku called out to Risa after the figure ran down the hall.

--------

Risa continued to thump up the steps shaking her head at how oblivious Rikku was. "Really? I hadn't noticed..." With a sigh Risa reached the top of the steps and looked left and right. It was a hallway, nothing more, nothing less. There had to be no less than eight rooms coming off the hall, four on the left and four on the right. Risa bit her lip slightly and looked around, she would go into a room and make it her own without permission, but she hated to cause unnecessary trouble in a place as strange as this.

--------

"_Man, what's her problem?_" thought Rikku. Rikku turned around and headed down back stairs. She was about to exit the tavern but a figure outside the window stopped her. It was that stupid apple guy. Was he still looking for her? What an idiot. Rikku turned back around yet again and headed back up the stairs. "_I guess I'll just stay here for awhile._"

--------

As Rikku headed back down the steps Risa turned into one of the bedrooms and shut the door behind her sliding the heavy bolt into place with a soft thunk.

A pair of sensitive ears pricked when they heard Rikku climbing the steps back up to the second floor. Quickly and silently the person leaped to their feet and slipped out of their door and towards the top of the steps. Upon seeing Rikku climbing the steps the blonde haired girl leaped off the top of the steps throwing all of her 110 pounds into Rikku. The two girls fell down the steps, a confused tangle of arms and legs.

--------

Rikku was about half-way when she felt herself falling. She wasn't able to see who it was for her head kept hitting the floor. Groaning as she finally, she looked to see who her attacker was. Rikku blinked at the blonde girl who was currently lying on top of her. Using her really cool strength, Rikku tossed the girl off of her and leapt on to her feet. For precaution, she grabbed her bow and an arrow, and pointed at the blonde. "What was that for!" she yelled.

--------

With a slight moan Lili rolled over and blinked her eyes trying to clear her dizzy head. When she looked up she saw Rikku standing above her with an arrow pointed towards the throat. Lili's eyes widened and she scrambled behind the bar quickly taking cover. In the safety behind the bar Lili found a good supply of spoons, forks, cups, and plates. With a delighted squeal she began to gather the tableware and put it into a big pile on top of the bar.

--------

Rikku blinks and sweatdrops at the blonde before her. She decides that this girl was not a threat and lowers her bow and arrow. "What are you doing?" she asks the strange girl.

--------

Lili poked her head up and rests her chin on the bar, staring at Rikku with bright blue eyes. "I'm waiting here, obviously." Lili poked her head a little higher and slapped one of her hands on the table. "And what are you doing here?"

--------

"What am _I_ doing here? You're asking what I'm doing here? I'll tell you what I'm doing here! I'm...I'm..." Rikku pauses to think. "Well...what am I doing here...IT was really like I wanted to come here...it just happened. I'm running from this guy who sells apples...and I'm trying to get the money that, that girl took from me."

--------

"Girl?!" Lili jumps up and slams her hands against the bar looking at Rikku frantically. "There's someone else here!? No wait-" Lili jumped over the bar swiftly and moved closer to Rikku. "Was there a guy with her? About this tall..." Lili jabbed the air a little above Rikku's head with her finger. "And have a hat pulled really low?"

--------

Rikku stared at the girls sudden out burst then smirk. "Maybe there was and maybe there wasn't. That kind of information is going to cost you," she said evilly.

--------

Lili blinked at Rikku's proposal then starts to giggle. "You're funny." Lili pats Rikku's shoulder then suddenly notices someone standing at the entrance to the tavern.

"YOU!" The apple man shouted as he pointed at Rikku. "THEIF! Ohhh.... you and your gang think that you can get away with anything in these parts, but you can't!" The man strode towards Rikku angrily. "Pay me back for the apple you stole from me! The cops are just outside if you try and pull any funny stuff!"

Quietly Lili slips away from Rikku and over to the window. She pulled back the shade to reveal two police officers standing in front of the shop and Lili could spot two more armed with bows standing on a nearby roof. Nervously Lili bit her lip, and then she turned to the man and smiled. A faint glow appeared on her skin enveloping the man and she walked over to him smiling sweetly. "Did she steal something from you sir?"

"U-uh Yes..." The man looked at Lili surprised. "Sh- She stole an apple from me... one of my best..."

"On no..." Lili cast Rikku a disapproving look and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I'm fairly certain that you _gave_ that apple to her sir."

"Bu- But I didn't..." The man looked at Lili then Rikku uncertainly. "Did I?"

"I'm just sad that you didn't give me one as well..." Lili let her hand fall off the man's shoulder and she looked away sadly.

"Oh! I-I'm so sorry! Here you go!" The man pulled out a large red apple from one of his pockets and handed it to Lili.

"Thank you so much Sir!" Lili smiled brightly and took the apple. "But we couldn't possibly keep you away from your stand, so would you mind telling the police outside that the issue has been resolved?"

"O-of course!" The man nodded and hurried out the door. "Thank you so much miss!"

"Of course~!" Lili laughed and waved as he shut the door. As the door clicked shut Lili turned slowly to glare at Rikku. "You **stole** something?! **HERE?**" Lili waved a hand in front of her own face and then took a large bite out of the apple. "Nevermind. But was that enough? Can you tell me if a man was with her or not?"

--------

Rikku stood there with her mouth wide open. How did she do that? If Rikku knew it was that easy she would have done that earlier. She didn't do anything but flirt and she still got a bigger apple then what she stole.  
"Wait, what's wrong with stealing something here? Tell me that and I'll tell you if there was one or not."

--------

A child-like smile grew across Lili's face and walked over to one of the tables and sat down on top of it. "Ah~! You really don't know do you?" Lili shook her head and waggled a finger at Rikku. "You need to keep up on the news more. You followed this main road after you left the last city right? When you came from that town to this town you entered the province of Xaranth. New government, new problems." Lili licked her lips and poked her apple, a slightly concerned look on her face. "You see the capital city of Xaranth, Harraspor, isn't too far from here and in the main city is where the court of Rouge is." Lili scratched her head and looked at Rikku. "This is going to take too long to explain, and you look confused already." Lili jumped off the table and padded over to Rikku. "PLEASE tell me if a man was with her or not!"

--------

"_I am confused but I want to know..._" Rikku thought sadly. Sighing Rikku sits on one of the tables. Yes, a table, not a chair, a table. "There was no man with the girl. Why? Did this guy break your heart or something?"

--------

Lili stared at Rikku then doubled over laughing. She gasped frantically for breath and clutched her stomach. After a minute the laughter subsided and Lili straightened herself, swiping the tears of laughter out of her eyes. "Of course not. And now..." Lili sat down on the table next to Rikku. "I have more time to talk to you." Lili grinned, "You're funny. But if you lied to me abut him being there..." Lili's hand twitched slightly but the happy smile stayed. "You'll regret it 'kay? "


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

Rikku smirked. She was beginning to like this girl. "So tell me more about this Xarith...no that's not right... Xamaths....uhhh...thing..." Rikku was never good at remembering names...that reminded her. "So what's your name?"

--------

"Xaranth." Lili pointed at Rikku. "And my name is Lili." Lili squirmed further up on the table and put her feet up on a chair. "Okay so I'll try and explain this _real_ slow for you." Lili flashed Rikku a smile. "You understand that there are different Provinces, like separate countries, that each have their own type of government and head city right?"

--------

Rikku nodded. She had that much. She hoped everything was this simple to understand.

--------

Lili continued. "When you came to this town you entered a new province, one called Xaranth. The head city of Xaranth is called Harraspor and the king and queen live in Harraspor." Lili placed her apple core on the floor beneath them. "Now there are two types of government in Harraspor. The royal court which runs trade and upholds the law and stuff. And the court of the rouge who help to keep assassins and thieves from getting out of hand."

--------

Rikku nodded. "I see I see....um why are there two?"

--------

"Because!" Lili smacked Rikku on the back of the head lightly. "The rouge court isn't recognized as an official government. It's made up of skilled thieves and assassins most of them are wanted by the law. Their job is to regulate the amount thieves steal and they prevent mass murders from happening."

--------

Rikku rubbed the back of her head. "Okay, okay. Geez. Go on."

--------

"Well recently there has been a string of kidnappings and the royal court is blaming the rouge court for them." Lili shrugged. "Nothing unusual, but anyone who is caught stealing can get in **big** trouble for it." Lili nodded to herself. "Anyone who may be associated with the rouge court can get in trouble if they're caught" Lili looked at Rikku out of the corner of her eye. "And **you** were stealing apples. Dummy."

--------

"Neee. I can take them."

--------

Lili rolled her eyes and leaped off the table. "Well you suck as a thief, that's for sure. And if they catch you next time and put you on the rack don't expect **me** to come save your butt. It's far too big." Lili grabbed her apple core off the ground and walked over to the bar. "So what's your name?"

--------

"Name's Rikku, coolest person you will ever meet." she said with a big grin.

--------

With a sigh Lili threw her apple core into a wastebasket behind that bar. "This stinks. I'm bored."

--------

"Me to..." Rikku brought her knees to her chest.

--------

~*~_MEANWHILE_~*~

Risa listened to the two girl's conversation from the top of the stairs. Her face lacked any kind of emotion, she had been right Rikku wasn't a big threat after all. In fact, she seemed almost too clueless. Risa turned away from the stairs and headed back into her room, locking it tight behind her. The room was located on the second floor and Risa opened her window wide open and poked her head out into the small side street it looked out onto. In order to get out of here without those two buffoons from noticing she would have to climb out. Thankfully the ground wasn't too far and Risa was certain she could make it, but she wouldn't be able to bring her sword, armor, or bow with her. Cursing the thought Risa jumped out the window smoothly and landed on the ground easily. She began to jog down the street, she was going to be meeting a new client soon.

--------

Rikku's ears twitched as she heard a noise from upstairs. Was it that girl from before? Was she listening the whole time? that would suck if she was. Rikku was going to extort money from her with the information that she got from Lili. Rikku sighed in defeat. I guess she was going to be broke for ever. Rikku turned her attention towards Lili. "Hey, did you hear something?"

--------

Lili looked at Rikku in disbelief and rolled her eyes. "For that type of information you're going to have to pay." Lili gave a little snort. "Not really. Of course I heard it. Female, around 17-19, not wearing armor. Why?"

--------

"I think it was that girl from earlier! Let's go see!" Rikku grabbed Lili's arm and started to drag her towards the stairs. It wasn't that hard. Lili was light and Rei was strong.

--------

Lili hissed as Rikku grabbed her arm. Well what did she expect?! It was **uncomfortable**. Lili began to squirm furiously in Rikku's grip, Rikku was surprisingly strong but Lili was more flexible and she wasn't carrying large weapons or pack like Rikku was.

--------

Rikku noticed Lili's struggling and let go. Rikku smiled. "Hehe sorry. I guess I don't know my own strength." They finally reached the Risa's door. Rikku knocked but when there was no answer she tried to open it but it was locked.

--------

Lili shot Rikku a cold glare and stood up straight. With a small 'humph' she turned her back on Rikku and the door and turned towards the room next to Risa's. She pushed open the door easily and walked inside without even knocking, leaving Rikku alone in the hall.

--------

"Hey it's locked," wined Rikku. "Hey Lili, do yo-you're not here." Rikku sat down on the ground and puffed her cheeks out. Rikku let out a sigh as she leaned against the locked door and tried to come up with a plan.

--------

Lili stood in the empty room and walked over to the window whistling softly to herself. Happily she flipped the lock on the window and slid it open. "Rikku~~~!" Lili said in a sing-song voice. "Come here~~~!" Lili sat down on the windowsill and swung her legs out of the window. "Hurry!" She looked over towards the bedroom door expectantly waiting for Rikku to come in.

--------

Rikku didn't answer Lili's calls. She wanted to but there was a heavy weight upon her and she couldn't move. Her eye lids fell heavy as she went into a deep sleep. That's right she hadn't slept in a while nor had a decent meal. No wonder she was falling a sleep.

--------

Lili waited for a moment longer for Rikku, but when she didn't reply Lili shrugged. She looked out the window and to the left, just as she thought, the window was open. The air around Lili began to glow a pale shade of green and the glow stayed with her, clinging to her skin. Lili squeezed out of the window and stood on the wall smiling to herself. The spell had worked! Two spells in one day and she hadn't failed once yet! This was exciting for her.

Lili walked across the wall and entered the girl's bedroom through her window. A quick look around told her that she wasn't here anymore, and by looking at the ground underneath the window she had jumped out while she and Rikku were talking. The blonde haired youth chided herself, she shouldn't have let herself be distracted by Rikku. Completely silent Lili walked over to the door and pressed her ear against it. There was deep, slow breathing on the other side. Rikku was SLEEPING?!

Lili hesitated for a moment. Should she wake Rikku up or should she go after the girl by herself? Alone. Lili nodded as she began to cross back over to the window. Rikku was stupid and would probably try to steal something from the tavern to eat or maybe even break down Risa's door to get in. Melissa the barmaid had already gone off to find the owner or maybe the police, so if Rikku tried anything stupid she would immediately be tossed off to jail. Lili climbed out the window shutting it behind her, Risa would know she had been here now. She walked down the wall, being careful not to make a single mark on the ground of the dusty road as she lowered herself down and released the spell. That's right... Lili thought as she started down the road after Risa, unaware of the pair of eyes that watched her. If she needed Rikku later for something she could just swing by the jail and pick her up.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Rikku eyes snapped open as she felt magic being used. Rikku stood up and tried the knob again. This time she turned it to hard and broke the knob off. Rikku's eyes twitched. "Well, since it's already open..." Rikku skipped into the room and looked around. Nothing.

"Halt thief!" yelled a policeman. Rikku screamed and put her hands up. She decided to use her brains for once and not cause a scene. So that's what happened. That's how Rikku got in jail. She could brake out but what was the point, besides she might get some useful information this way. She turned to the side and faced a dirty guy in the cell next to her.

"Do you know of a man named Fay Mizuki?" she asked with a smile.

--------

Risa sat at the table with a man a little bit taller than her and a hat pulled down real low over his eyes. She swirled her drink around in her cup and fixed her gaze on it quietly speaking to the man. "So I hear you're looking for a new hire?"

The man was taller than Risa and she could see the sword underneath his loose cloak. He leaned forward and stroked his beard thoughtfully looking at her. "You don't look much older than my own little girl Freddie..."

Risa took another drink of the warm liquid."But I can do what she couldn't." Risa looked up at him. "And I can do it well."

"True 'nough." The man pulled off one of his gloves and paused. "How many exits are there to this room?"

"Five." Risa answered without pause. "Two windows in the front, the front door, the stairs leading upstairs, and the door behind the bar."

"And which one would you take if you had to make a quick escape?"

Risa thought for a moment calculating her options. The windows were out, too much glass and mess. The door behind the bar she had to go through the kitchen, upstairs there was a chance of no way out, and the front door lead out to a main street. "Well sir..." Risa ran her tongue across her lips and looked up at him earnestly. "The front door."

The man cocked his head not understanding. "Why?"

"I wouldn't be the cause of this trouble, and even if I were leaving through the front door versus making a glamorous exit would leave less of an impact."

A smile twitched on the man's lips. "You have a very good head on your shoulders, girl." The man pulled and envelope out of his pocket and pushed it over to Risa. "All the information you'll need is in there, and the first half of your pay."

Risa's chair didn't make a sound as she pushed it back and stood up. With a nod to the man she exited the tavern, through the front door.

"Good luck." The man whispered.

Lili stood on the opposite side of the busy street and watched as Risa exited the tavern smoothly. The sun was high in the sky at this time and the crowded streets were thick with dust. Lili pouted slightly looking at the tavern accusingly, that wasn't fair, he should have briefed her at the same time as Risa. Now she was going to weasel the information out of the stiff black haired girl. Lili ran her fingers through her short hair and sighed. There was no help for it now, she would have to follow her all the way back to the inn. Lili started off down the street planning her dramatic entrance. She never even saw the hand start to reach out of the alleyway and didn't even have time to yell as it pulled her into the darkness.

--------

"I'm all alone! No one cares about me! No one knows I'm alive!" sang Rikku very, very, off key.

"Please stop," said the man in the cell next to her.

"No way. You wouldn't give me any info on Fay so I'm just going to keep singing."

"I told you I don't know anyone by the name of Fay!"

"Well, that's too bad! LALALALALALA FAY!! I MISS YOU FAY!! WHERE'D YOU GO! I MISS YOU SO! SEEMS LIKE ITS BE-" Rikku stopped when she heard the door of the Jail building creak open.

In came the sheriff of the town. "Stop that racket! I can hear that awful sing from across town! Do you want to stay in this cell longer?!" Rikku shut her mouth and pointed to the guy next to her.

"It was all him."

"WHAT?" yelled the guy.

"You expect me to believe that?" asked the sheriff.

"Yup, is beautiful."

"Prove it."

"La la la la la la!" Rikku sang in a decent voice. The sheriff and man stared at her. The sheriff turned around slowly and left the jail while the man just glared at her.

--------

Risa opened the door to the inn to find a mess inside. Policemen were milling about talking to the skittish barmaid and a disgruntled owner. Risa drew back in shock and stared at the scene in front of her, what had happened here?! Had someone died?!

"There she is!" The barmaid yelled pointing to Risa. "She's the one!"

Risa raised her arms in alarm and stepped back again. "May I help you?"

"So you're the one who assisted the criminal in breaking into the inn and shuffling through people's belongings?" A gruff police officer walked over to her, his hand resting gently on his sword hilt.

Mentally Risa swore, she didn't even have her sword on her, only her throwing knives. "Sir I have no idea what you are talking about." Risa looked up at him.

"We arrested a member of the court of the Rouge here earlier for attempting to steal a number of weapons from a sealed room." The officer nodded. "And from the looks of her she was a high member of the court as well. We figured it would only be a matter of time before one of her buddies came for her."

Risa's eyebrows shot up, that foolish girl had been a member of the rouge court? She certainly hid it well, she played a good fool. Risa sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. Da**... that girl could have been a useful information resource. Ah well.

"Sir, those are my weapons and I have no intention of stealing from myself." Risa sighed again. "When I got here the barmaid disappeared so I figured it would be alright if I simply placed my belongings in a room and left them there until a later time. I apologize for any inconvenience or confusion that I may have caused." Risa looked up at the officer. "But I have done nothing illegal."

The man studied her for a moment then nodded. "I apologize for the confusion. Can you give us any information on the girl from earlier?"

"None." Risa said curtly. "If you wouldn't mind I am going to check my belongings now."

The officer excused her and Risa slid up to her room and shut the door behind her. Her belongings were all intact she noticed that her window had been closed, but it had probably been the officers. Risa locked her door, sat on her bed, and opened up the envelope the man had given her.

The documents spilled out onto the bedspread and Risa rifled through them quickly. There was a lot of information here; this job was going to be difficult. The children that had disappeared seemed to have no connection to one another. The kidnappings were spread out all over Xaranth and came to a total of 21 missing persons. The youngest victim was 3 years old and the oldest was 16 years old. The envelope had a profile of each missing child with their basic information, family, and where they were kidnapped from. The information seemed random with no connections.

Risa sighed and ruffled her hair; she would have to look through the information on the children more thoroughly later. There was a page covering how the Court of the Rouge might fit in to all of this, but accusations seemed sketchy. What she needed was more information and more help. The forests of Xaranth were vast and the cities were complex. She needed a local citizen to help, an elf to help navigate through the forests, and maybe a member of the court of Rouge, if willing, could provide her with all the information needed. Risa bit her lip, and if there were that many people coming along a cleric who could help with injuries would be useful as well.

Risa sighed and stood up, she was going to have to deal with people and a lot of them for a while. First of all she needed to see and if she could get some information from the locals. A scowl appeared on Risa's face as she grabbed her sword and dagger. The most logical place to start would be with that girl who was supposedly from the Court of the Rouge, as dumb as she seemed she might know something, or someone who could help her.

Risa nodded to the barmaid as she exited the inn, she heard the sound of a plate crashing to the floor as she left. Something was definitely up with her, but she didn't have the time to worry about things like that. Slowly, almost hesitantly Risa made her way to the jails and opened the broken down door. It creaked loudly and a sheriff sitting at a table looked up at her. Rows of cells were visible behind him and a few of the occupants of them shifted to see who had entered.

Risa swallowed her dry throat, a headache already starting to emerge from the conversation that hadn't even begun yet. "I... I'm looking for a Rikku..."


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

The sheriff and the occupants all pointed to Rikku's cell and yelled, "Just take her!" Rikku, who was lying on her cot, looked over to see who her visitor was. She smirked when she saw that it was the girl from earlier. Rikku got up and stretched. "Well it's about time someone came." She walked up to the door of her cell and kicked it. The rusted door swung open and was swinging on one hinge. "Well, let's go," she said grabbing Risa by the arm. She turned towards the sheriff and says with a smile, "Thanks you for your hospitality but I must be going." She continued to pull Risa out the door. Once out she let go of Risa and started to walk away.

--------

Risa stopped and watched the odd girl walk away from her. She ran her tongue across her teeth trying to imagine the idea of following her for some answers. No. Risa shook her head slightly. No information was going to be worth following this girl for a conversation. Besides, Risa thought, there were other members of the Rouge Court. Risa turned her back on the half-elf and back towards the jail, maybe the sheriff had some information she didn't.

--------

Rikku continued to walk down the street. She wanted to find Lili and ask her a few questions. The girl knew so much about The Rouge Court maybe she knew something about Fay. Now should she start? She decided to go back to the tavern.

--------

Lili struggled frantically in the darkness of the alleyway. The person holding her was too strong and when she was pinned like this she couldn't reach her dagger or do a spell.

"Your purse seems quite full today 'mam." A silky smooth voice purred in her ear making her body stiffen. "It must be heavy, mind if I help you?"

Lili hissed and kicked the man in the shin making him flinch in pain as she squirmed an arm free. Quickly she removed her dagger and pinned him against the wall. "One. I'm much too young to be called 'mam. Two. You're and idiot. Three. I hate you."

A smile crept across the man's mouth. "You certainly like lists don't you?"

"Four." Lili nodded and looked at the man seriously. "If you ever do that again I swear I will blast you with a magic missile faster than you can pull out one of your stupid daggers." Lili banged her head against his as hard as she could. "Got it Raiden?"

The boy moaned. "Why is your head so **hard**?"

Lili didn't release him from her tight grip. "Because. I need it to retain all the information I have in here."

"Lucky you." With a swift movement the boy was free of Lili's grip with a dagger at her throat. "And when it gets in it never escapes right?"

"I don't want to waste my spell." Lili said angrily. "Let me go."

Raiden released her and slipped his dagger up his sleeve again. "So what are you doing here Lili? I was surprised to see you. I just had to say hello."

Lili snorted. "Hello to you as well. I'm here on business of course." Lili flashed a bright smile. "Well paying business."

"Oh _really_?" Raiden said interested. "Care to elaborate?"

"No way." Lili folded her arms. "You'll just come and try to take some of my share. Besides, you never told me why you were here."

"That my dear," Lili could see Raiden's faint smile in the dark shadows. "Is a secret."

"Of course." Lili sighed and she inched towards the opening of the alleyway. "Well I have to go. Because of you I just lost the person I was following."

Raiden laughed, a light carefree sound. "Of course. I'll probably see you later then."

Lili frowned and stepped into the street. She blinked her eyes in the bright light and heard the faint rustle as Raiden slipped into the shadows. With a sigh she started to jog quickly back towards the tavern, that's probably where Risa was headed. As she moved through the crowd she noticed someone familiar. Rikku. Lili smiled, so the fool had managed to avoid jail after all. Good for her.

--------

Rikku stopped and looked up into the sky when she heard a falcon cry. She held out her arm and the falcon landed on it. In its mouth was a rolled up piece of paper, which she took. The falcon then flew away. Rikku unrolled the paper and read its words.

_There have been many kidnappings of children recently. Try looking there. __  
__-Sora_

Rikku's eye twitched. "_Thanks a lot Sora. That totally helps. But you forgot to TELL ME WHERE THERE IS!_" thought Rikku angrily as she ripped up the paper with her teeth and hands. Sora usually was very helpful but this info was vague. Who care's about children? What did it have to do with Fay or the group our group was looking for...maybe she could get money from the children's' parents as a reward for returning their love ones...yeah sure.

Rikku ears twitched and she turned around to see Lili. She smiled and waved to Lili.

--------

Lili jogged up to Rikku all smiles. She halted in front of her sending a small could of dust into the air with her feet. Quickly Lili smoothed out her hair and clothes, still a bit rumpled from her meeting with Raiden. "Hey nice bird! Is it yours?"

--------

Rikku laughed nervously. "Oh, you saw that... Nope it's...a friend's bird. Hehe...So I have some questions to ask you. Let's head to the tavern and get something to eat," Rikku said with a smile.

--------

Lili grinned and rolled back on her heels. "I would love to, and I hate to miss a chance to swap stories, but I was playing a game of hide-and-seek with the girl from the tavern and I'm seeking." Lili cocked her head to the side and looked at Rikku curiously. "You wouldn't be able to give me a tiny hint would you?"

--------

Rikku was smiling on the outside but on the inside she was growling. All she wanted was info on Fay. "I'll show you where she is but first you tell me all you know about a guy named Fay Mizuki, ok?"

--------

Lili looked at Rikku for a moment then a small surprised smile grew across her face. "Fay? Isn't that like.... a _girl's_ name?!" Lili began to giggle. "How silly! You're **serious**?"

--------

"OF COUSE I'M SERIOUS! AND FAY IS NOT A GIRL-even if he does kind of look like one...So do you know anything about him or not?" yelled Rikku. Rikku didn't like when people made fun of Fay. He was special to her.

--------

"Fay.... Fay...." Lili tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Fay Mizuki....." Lili pondered the thought for a while. "Hmmm.... afraid not. Not any interesting information on hand anyway." Lili laughed and placed her hands on her hips. "Now are you going to sit there glaring at me or tell me where Risa is?"

--------

Rikku blinked. "Ri-sa? Is that her name?" asked Rikku. She decided to just laugh it off. "Yeah I'll show you where she is. Follow me." Rikku started to skip towards the jail. Once there she slammed the door open and said. "I'M BACK!"

--------

"OH S***!" There was tumble as the sheriff fell out of his chair and landed on the ground in a tumbled heap. A snicker of laughs rose up from the prison cells. The sheriff jumped up and brushed off his clothes obviously embarrassed and looked up at Rikku with a panicked look. "Y-you don't need to worry about the bail! This young lady here explained that you hadn't done anything wrong and nothing was stolen from her after all." The sheriff motioned to Risa whose back was still facing the door and twisted his fingers nervously. "W-we're sorry for the confusion... did you uh.... leave something here?"

Risa sighed as she listened to the sheriff babble, he was a fool. He knew nothing of importance relating to the kidnappings and the fact that 'they had full security all over the whole town' didn't help ease her mind. No wonder children were being kidnapped so easily. If what she had seen of their security was all there was to it this town was doomed. Risa didn't turn to look at Rikku, she had to think about some better information resources. She knew of a few people, but she was only on the outskirts of Xaranth and none of them were nearby. "_Besides..._" Risa thought glumly. "_Even if I did manage to get to one of the larger towns there's a high probability that I won't be able to find them_."

--------

Rikku snorted. This guy was an idiot. He's supposed to be the sheriff. "No, I didn't leave anything here but my friend wanted to meet Risa. That's all." Rikku thought for a second and then smiled. "You should pay me for all the trouble I went through, little man," she said evilly. The sheriff's eyes widened and he held out a bag of money for her.

--------

That caught Risa's attention. Friend? Who could possibly be calling themselves her friend? Risa turned slightly irritated to see who was with Rikku. Standing next to the half elf was an elf with bright blonde hair and shocking blue eyes. Risa's eyes widened in panic and the girl grinned impishly and waved a hand at her. "Y-YOU!" Risa said obviously flustered for the first time in a long time. "What are **YOU** doing here?"

--------

Rikku looked back and forth between the two girls. She really didn't really understand what was happening nor did she care. She got her money that's the only thing that mattered. "You know each other?" she asked.

--------

"Eh.... Heh heh..." Lili gave a nervous laugh and looked at Rikku with a guilty look on her face. "Well.... you could... say that...."

In a swift movement Risa had Lili by her pointed ear and was dragging her out the door as a stunned sheriff watched. She gave Rikku a cold stare of disapproval and pressed her lips together into a thin line. "WHAT." Risa held the struggling Lili before her. "Did you bring me this for?"

"Owowowowowowwwwwww!!!!!" Lili pulled on Risa's arm trying to make her let go. "Stop it!"

"If I let you go who knows what you might take **this** time." Risa snapped moving her attention back to Lili as she gave her another hard yank.


End file.
